Researcher: enrollment to increase in La Crosse over next decade

More seats are likely to be filled in La Crosse classrooms in the coming years. That's according to the findings of a researcher from UW-Madison who's projecting the next 10 years of enrollment for the district.

The numbers show the biggest increase will happen in the elementary schools. There is some fluctuation projected at the middle and high school with the high school having a slight increase by the end.

The researcher gathered enrollment history, birth data from the area, and general population information to put together the projection. "The school district of La Crosse has actually been declining the last 10 years, but now my projections are showing a slight increase in enrollment, largely due to some in-migration that's occurring," said researcher Sarah Kemp.

The numbers were presented at Monday night's school board meeting.

Also at the meeting, Altra Federal Credit Union was recognized for its continuing partnership with the district.

They do a number of presentations every year in the schools including a virtual simulation where students can learn from common financial mistakes. "They typically buy a car and the game quickly penalizes them for that so then when they end up getting their bankruptcy notice on the screen and start over, they tend to be a little more conservative the second time around," said Altra's Senior V.P. of Retail Operations Steve Koenen.

The school board is recognizing a business partner each month for making an impact on the district.

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